Harvey’s Trip Reports

I counted 150″ of snow at Gore Mountain this year. That was with almost nothing after Feb 20. While that was an average total, what was below average was the late season – almost no snow. What was better than average was the lack of multiple debilitating rain/meltdown situations. I’d bet that the number of days the trees were skiable this season was above average.

I’ve been accused of being too positive and not giving solid beta on conditions. The problem is that when I’m skiing I am usually totally pysched, an I almost always end up having a good time. The average expert alpine skier might be bored out of his/her mind doing what I do. Driving up the interstate, lighting a fire, waking up before dawn, making coffee, driving over, and skiing as hard as I can all day long. Coming home for beer and blog. Just typing that out is fun. I’m a teleskier – 800 feet of vertical is fine for me. Slow lifts are great. Gore’s Dark Side has even less real vertical and it’s probably my favorite part of the mountain. I understand that my lack of any need for variety puts me in the minority.

Continue reading →

3 Things To Like About Gore Mountain

Dreaming about winter, and pondering some of my favorite things about Gore Mountain:

1 – The runs under the lifts. High Pines, Dark Side, Straightbrook. Now Sagamore. Even Showcase is decent. With those first three…they are just a little beyond me, so the challenge is perfect. Also I like any run where irregular bumps form – the opposite of zipper line. Somehow I’m just more in tune with those runs.

2 – The lack of lift lines. I hope the optimists are right and we’ll enjoy that for a long time to come.

Continue reading →

Gore Mountain, NY: 3/28/09

The weekend’s forecast was quite iffy throughout the week, ranging from rain and mostly cloudy, to eventually partly cloudy high in the 50s. I wasn’t ready to end my ski season though Greek Peak had already called it quits, so I watched the weather closely to see if a trip up to Gore would be worthwhile. By Thursday night, the forecast had improved greatly and plans were set in motion.

Topridge

Marilyn and I started at 6:30am from Newfield and were rolling into the parking lot just before 10:30. We were on the soft hero snow by 11 under cloudless bluebird skies. The trails were in great shape and the woods were already soft and had good coverage, especially on the north faces (Darkside). Straightbrook glade was excellent too. Dodging rocks, sticks and dirt made for a better challenge, however, coverage was mostly quite excellent.

Continue reading →